Atiku further said that his rejection of a Muslim-Muslim ticket after the ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), amongst others, merged to form the APC had stopped Buhari from picking Tinubu, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
“And of course, it is also a fact that when Buhari emerged (as APC’s candidate) in 2015 in Lagos I opposed a Muslim-Muslim ticket and my opposition actually reinforced the decision of President Buhari to pick a Christina running mate.
“I don’t believe it is right for a country like Nigeria. In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country, there should be balance of interest, whether religious or otherwise,” he said.
The Turakin Adamawa also responded to a question on if Tinubu’s decision to pick a running mate from the North East will not affect his prospects at the polls since he (Atiku) also hails from the North East.
“Certainly, my prospects are much. I think it is an unfair question to ask me because I know that my prospects are much higher. I believe you know the composition of the North East. You have Borno and Yobe: these are essentially two Kanuri states and you have other states which are essentially Hausa-Fulani states. So, if indeed people are going to vote on that basis, I think I have a more favorable (outlook) from the North East.”
It could be recalled that Tinubu had said that his decision to pick a fellow Muslim as running mate was not taken “based on religion or to please one community or the other”.
“I made this choice because I believe this is the man who can help me bring the best governance to all Nigerians, period, regardless of their religious affiliation or considerations of ethnicity or region, Tinubu stated this at the unveiling of Shettima as the vice presidential candidate of the APC.
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